Comte Mede de Sivrac

Answer 1

Date of Deathof Mede de SivracMede de Sivrac invented the bicycle in 1791. Nothing else is known about the man, not even when he was born or died.

This is probably because he never lived.

The bicycle was invented in 1817 by a German called Karl Drais. This early version was known as a Draisienne. a French name because it was really the French who developed the invention during the 19th century.

By the end of the century the Germans had built their Empire, defeated France in the war of 1870 and taken two provinces, alsace and lorraine, away from France. When, in 1891, a frenchman, Baudry de Saunier, wrote a History of the Bicycle, he couldn't bear to think that this very French object had been invented by a German.

So he invented Mede de Sivrac, the French inventor of the bicycle. His machine was called the celerifere, and it was a bit like the Draisienne, with no pedal, no brakes, and - uniquely - no steering. As (unsurprisingly) French museums had no examples of this machine, a few copies were made up from the 'original plans'. The thing was totally impractical.

In fact, there was a M. Sievrac who patented a 'Celerifere' in 1817; but this was a horse-drawn vehicle.

French Wikipedia says that de Saunier's deception was discovered quite recently; but it gives no detailed source for this information. In fact, the revelation was made by Jacques Seray in his book 'Deux roues - La véritable histoire du vélo' Ed. du Rouergue, 1988.

Answer 2

Le Comte Mede de Sivrac was a fictitious personnage that was created by a French journalist in 1891. He could have neither a real birthdate nor a real date of death!

Please see the link. (Unfortunately it's in French. You might need to use a translation service.)

Answer 3

The prototype of the bicycle was invented by French craftsman, Comte Mede De Sivrac, in the 1790's. He called his vehicle the Celerifere or Velocifere.

Answer 4

1891 2013